The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) fines PPB Counterparty Services – the Paddy Power and Betfair parent company – a total of £490,000 for marketing to self-excluded customers.
The case took place on 21 November 2021, when customers who had self-excluded via Gamstop received a push notification detailing enhanced odds for bets on an English Premier League football match on the Paddy Power iOS app.
UKGC regulations oblige licensees not to send marketing materials to self-excluded customers. They also have to remove the names and details of these customers from any marketing databases within two days of notification of their self-excluded status.
PPB initially appealed against the decision, before accepting to pay a substitute fine of £490,000. In addition, parent company Flutter has introduced safer gambling measures such as mandatory deposit limits for under-25s and a £10 stake limit on slots.
This Week’s Second UKGC Fine
Paddy Power Betfair was not the first to receive a fine from the UKGC this week – SkillOnNet, the company behind PlayOJO and Knight Slots, has to pay no less than £305,150 to the commission.
The fine is the result of an investigation that took place between January 2021 and December 2022. This revealed various anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility failures on the part of SkillOnNet, which runs 50 websites in the UK.
Once paid, the funds will go to socially responsible cases.
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